Waiting for the Lights
by percychased
Summary: Muggle!AU. Teddy Lupin, forty-eight, has been diagnosed with cancer. After the reappearance of a fond childhood memory, his wife, daughter, and himself embark on a journey, determined to use the time they have left to the best of their ability.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

* * *

When her husband tells her that he has been diagnosed with cancer, the first thing Victoire does is play with her wedding band.

They've been married for twenty-five years. Over half of her life she's been his wife, a Lupin instead of a Weasley, and still - he didn't tell her until he had to, until it got worse.

"I wanted to..." he says, but he doesn't finish the sentence. She should be angry. She should be furious, him keeping this from her - she has always been known for her temper, but right now, the fire inside her has died. It's been drowned out, and God, she doesn't know what to do. Her anger is the wall she leans back on when she can't sit down, but now she's standing on the edge of a cliff, and it's as simple as that. She can't find it in herself to be angry. Not one bit.

He has kept this for so long. What is it like, to carry the world on your shoulders? She does not know. Violet doesn't know, either. Victoire Lupin knows she has had it easy - a great schooling career, a journey around the globe with her boyfriend, marrying him, and travelling some more, to the four corners of the Earth. Mexico, Finland, Egypt, China. They have seen the water rise and fall in Thailand, have gazed at the ancient pyramids of Giza, and yet she feels like she knows nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to Teddy.

Teddy. She sighs. She wants to cry, to scream. He is her best friend, and while she knows she is her own person, she is unafraid to admit that she leans on him. She can limp along, but it's so much easier when he is her crutch.

* * *

_Later_

The soft smile she fell in love with is still there, and he has this impossibly gentle look in his eyes as he takes her in at the door. She must look like a madwoman, she's sure - unkempt hair, large circles underneath her eyes...

"Vic..." He said. "Good news."

Those two words build a feeling in her she can hardly imagine - like she's soaring. She is Icarus underneath the sun, with wings glued to her back, ready to fall at any moment. Victoire walks over to his side. She doesn't touch him, but sits next to him instead. The happiness seems to radiate off him.

"And what's that?"

"Doc says partial remission is close. I'm allowed to go, so long as I come in for check-ups once a month," Teddy said, and there's that twinkle, that playful twinkle their daughter got from him, present in his eyes. Despite being almost painfully thin in appearance, he looks happy, wholly happy. The lines that came with age and the circles underneath his eyes are nothing compared to the grin on his face, escalating completely to a grin, a happy, playful, youthful grin.

"God," she whispers. "My God, Teddy. Oh," she choked on the last word, but she's still smiling brightly. They cling to every last hope they have, and this - this is like nothing she's ever felt before, a shattering mix of happiness and overwhelming relief.

"Not complete remission," he says, repeating himself, almost like he is reminding them to not get too happy. They don't know what lays ahead of them; the road has many turn-offs, and it isn't up to them which one they go down.

"Still," whispers Victoire. Her hand finds her way to her wedding band, playing with the ring that is a part of her. "Violet will be so happy. She'll be thrilled, Teddy, so happy."

"Our girl," he said. When Victoire was a child, she had always wondered why her parents had been together for so long. They've been married almost fifty years now, and yet her father still looks at her mother like she is the only thing that is worthy of this Earth.

She understands now. Oh, does she ever understand.

* * *

_"Anyone wishing to join the Athletic Association should contact Mr. Hardy in the guidance office. That's all for morning announcements - have a great day!"_

As soon as the announcements are off, the teacher begins class. Miss Diamondis had never wasted much time in the mornings; Violet already has her books out in front of her, all open to the right page.

There's a knock on the door of the classroom, and Miss Diamondis doesn't look too thrilled at being interrupted. All the students shift in their chairs, Violet included. It's the office assistant, who's leaning on the door.

"Miss Lupin, there's a call for you in the office. Rather urgent, I've been told."

They always leave a pit in her stomach, the calls. They come around once a week, always from her mother, always about her father.

Sometimes she has to leave school, sometimes she doesn't. Some are good, some are bad. It's a dice roll, it always has been, and her legs are trying to shake with fear, nervousness, but she won't let them. Mama doesn't need to hear the fear in her tone; she probably already has enough of her own.

She picks up the phone in the office.

"Vee, darling? Violet?"

"Mama." She does not sound scared, her mother. Almost... happy. Could...?

"Great news, my darling. Aunt Dom should be around in five minutes, and I've already gotten you excused... Papa is being kept at the hospital for now, just for observance, but... oh, cherie. Hurry, my darling!"

"I'll come as fast as Aunt Dom comes, Mama," said Violet, smiling in earnest at the happiness in her mother's tone. She sounded so happy.

* * *

Her daughter flies in to the room.

"Mama," she says, breathing heavily, "Papa." Moments later, Dominique walks in, with a smile on her face.

"Couldn't wait to get out of the car..." Her laugh is high and tinkly. "Wanted me to go faster, bloody hell. Boy, the sports that girl does sure do pay off. I can't keep up with her."

Victoire hugs her daughter, and the tall girl squeezed her back. "Did I interrupt you at school?"

"Yeah. Just a little bit. Diamondis didn't look too keen, but when does she ever?"

Teddy laughed at his daughter's comment, and opened his arm. She is cautious of his weary state, but still grins widely, unable to remove the smile from her face. Dominique and Victoire move back, allowing the father-daughter duo some time on their own.

"It's only a chance, Vic..." says Dom lowly, her eyebrows knitting together. Victoire knows what her sister is thinking. Her sister is so reasonable, logical, so unlike herself.

"I know, I know," replies Victoire, feeling more like a child than a middle-aged woman. "Damn it, Dominique, I know. But what are we going to do? Live in complete fear until he has a complete remission?"

"I just..." Dominique tries to finish her sentence, but fails. Teddy's her friend, too; her childhood friend, her brother-in-law. Sometimes Victoire has to remind herself she's not the only one suffering, that there are other people, too...

"You wouldn't want us to get our hopes up," whispers Victoire back, but it comes out unintendedly menacing. If she were her sister, she'd be quite offended at the tone, but Dominique just shrugs it off as if it's nothing.

"I care about you, all of you," her sister whispers, and that's the end of that conversation.

Teddy and Violet break apart, both wearing matching grins.

"How did the training go yesterday, Vee? Going the full monty?"

"Always, Papa," Violet says, and they both laugh.

* * *

Teddy comes home from observation the next day. Violet helps them get settled before dashing off to track and field practice - the girl's destined for great things, Victoire is sure of it. Maybe it's just the proud mother in her talking, but she knows her daughter is going to go far. They had even written about her, an article she'd read online - _Lupin one of the best runners_ _in decades_.

The emotions in her come pouring out, all of a sudden - _Mama's mood swings_, Violet calls them. Suddenly, there are tears in her eyes, and her heart is bursting. She feels like a teenaged girl from when she was young, a long time ago, at the same boarding school as Teddy and her cousins and siblings, at the influx and peak of her emotions. She's crying.

"What's wrong, Vic?" Vic. He doesn't call her anything else, not often.

"Nothing," she says. Nothing is wrong. "There is food in the fridge. I'm just happy, Teddy."

"As am I, darling."

* * *

a/n - Hi! This is the first chapter. This is a Muggle!AU, set in the _future_, so don't give me any grief if you notice the word _God _or the internet. Written for Milly's AU competition, as well as The Long Haul III. If anyone could give me any tips on the British schooling system - I'm Canadian, sorry - through PM, it would be much appreciated :) I couldn't have done this first chapter without my beta Ellie (audibly . austen), who is brilliant and manages to captured all of the grammar and tense mistakes. Thank you.

I wanted to explore the possibility of Remus Lupin passing on not lycanthropy but cancer on to his son. (_No_, Greyback didn't give him cancer. I had to twist that around a bit. More will be explained.)

I'd love to know what you thought of this!


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

* * *

"Bloody hell. Vic, would you c'mere for a second?"

Victoire drops her sewing on the sofa and climbs the stairs. Her husband is in the storage room of their home, a messy, unkempt room that has boxes piled up from wall-to-wall.

"What, dear? I need to finish mending Violet's trousers for school."

"Remember the summer before you starting Hogwarts?" His question takes her off guard for a second, but she remembers the day pretty clearly: the sun and the waves of the ocean, building sand castles with Rose, and babysitting her little cousin Freddie.

"'The summer we made our lists?" Out of all the memories, that is the one that sticks out the most for her – she and Teddy, crouched over a table, with lemonade and cookies, making lists with leftover crayons. It was the summer before Teddy grew up - actually grew up.

"Yes!" he exclaims. His voice is so full of child-like glee that she has to laugh. "I found my list, Vic! Look at this. I was a bit of a prat then, wasn't I?"

He comes out of the storage room and nearly runs down the stairs, not heeding her warnings, laughing in pure happiness.

Just then, the door bangs open and Violet appears in the doorway, looking slightly exasperated and slightly amused. "What's Papa laughing like a nutter for, Mama? Did he accidentally put hot sauce on his sandwich again?"

"No, even better! Vee, go put your stuff away, I have something to show you and Mama!"

_1. Date/marry a supermodel_

_2. Jump off a cliff and land on my feet_

_3. Tease Vic more_

"My God, Papa," laughs Violet. Victoire joins in - she'd forgotten just how amusing his teenage whims had been. He'd been as much of a troublemaker as his Uncle George, if not more, back at the boarding school.

_4. Go on a cruise_

_5. Eat chocolate until I can't eat anymore_

_6. Take Aunt Ginny's broom and see her reaction_

"I was a real git at thirteen," chuckles Teddy. He reads on, shaking his head and laughing at some of the things he'd scrawled in crayon all over the sheet.

_7. Own a dog_

_8. Swim with dolphins_

_9. See the big pyramids in Egypt_

"Some of these aren't too barmy. Fluffy is upstairs and Mama and I saw those back before you were born," explains Teddy.

_10. Go scuba diving_

_11. Go parasailing_

_12. Learn how to surf (properly)_

"You know," Violet muses, "we could probably get several birds with one stone, here."

"What do you mean, Violet?" asks Victoire.

"Go scuba diving, parasailing, swimming with dolphins... you know, that's all stuff you can do on a cruise, and it is almost summer. I'm off in a month or so..." Violet hints. "And it's not like we're going to have a better time to go as a family. We can do this, I'm quite sure of it. I'm doing A Levels soon and -"

"Violet, that..." starts Teddy, and leave his sentence hanging in suspense.

"What?"

"Sounds like a great idea."

Victoire agrees - they don't have much longer as a family before Violet moves out and they reach old (well, older) age. There would be things that would need to be figured out: who would watch the dog and the house, their finances, how long they would be gone for, where they would go, Violet's summer running practices...

"Vic, how about you?"

"Mama?"

"...yes. Yes, we could... we'd have a lot to figure out, but..."

Violet shouts in glee and Teddy smiles.

* * *

"You're getting better, Violet."

She leans over, supporting her hands on her knees and breathing heavily. The 1500m is her worst event by far. She has always been a sprinter rather than a long-distance runner, but her coach makes her do both. You can't race at all without endurance, he told her.

Violet manages a weak smile before standing up on her aching legs. Now that her first race of the season is nearing - it was two days before they'd leave for the cruise – she'd been working harder, longer. The team hadbeen at it for three hours now, and the distinct grumble of her stomach is getting louder and louder.

She quickly changes and gets into Aunt Dom's car. She usually drove her home after practice. Having no children of her own, and only one niece, she had always doted upon Violet.

"How was it, cherie?" Her aunt had always embraced her French heritage, and it was evident from the large sunglasses sitting on her nose to her expensive dress and the French terms of endearment.

"Getting better, Coach says, but I'm not sure," she says, leaning back against the passenger seat as Dom drives.

"I'm sure you are, no doubt about it," Dom says. She's always supported Violet and her running, even when her mother said it was wearing her out too much. Not that she couldn't see from her mother's point of view, really, but honestly she almost disliked how much attention she got (sometimes - there were definitely exceptions) as an only child.

She slips in to the house. Papa is watching that telly programme he likes, and Mama is probably sewing, a hobby of hers she'd taken from her own grandmother.

Violet tosses her bag on to her unmade bed. A young woman such as yourself needs to be much more organized, said Mama, but Violet is just... well, unorganized, in the oddest of ways. She likes her food neatly on her plate, her papers and books and runners organized, but everything else... well, ah.

She flips open the suitcase. Might as well get everything done now, rather than later.

* * *

"Don't lose her-"

"Jesus, Victoire, I won't lose your daughter!"

"Just being careful," says Victoire, and they both make eye contact and laugh. She's told her sister the same exact thing every time she comes to pick up Violet for a bout of shopping (to which Violet never said no, the extremely energetic girl that she was).

"Ma, I think it's you who usually loses me," teases Violet, and Victoire kisses her daughter's blonde hair before ushering them out the door.

"Don't shop too much!" calls Teddy from the sitting room, where he is with her Uncle Harry. Victoire waves in acknowledgement. They'd been watching television for the last few hours while Victoire sat at the table finishing her sewing. It was a lovely little piece of embroidery, but Violet and Teddy have no patience for her crafts. Just like Teddy, Violet is energetic and happy - almost crazily so. Victoire feels like an old woman, hunched over her cooking and her sewing. Violet, born when Victoire was thirty (a good, stable age, in her opinion) had caused her to go grey early. Not that she minded, of course. Violet is her baby girl. She is a bit of a hovering mother, with the phone calls from school and the constant checking up, but she's just very worried for Violet - a natural instinct if there ever was one.

"Better be going," says Harry, standing up and wincing as his bones crack. "Ginny'll never forgive me if I'm not there to cook. She'll blow up the kitchen, not that I mind," he laughs. "I'll see you, Teddy, after that trip of yours. Don't get too wild."

"No promises, mate," her husband calls from the living room. Harry laughs and slips out the front door, and soon there is the roaring of the engine in the driveway. Now that he is on his way home to Ginny, it's just her and Teddy alone now.

* * *

"Violet, do you have your runners, the cruise has an indoor-"

"Track. Yes, Mama, I do."

"And your books for school? You'll have to do a little studying, it is summer break, but -"

"Yes, Mama. I've double-checked and triple-checked, all at your insistence."

"Okay," Victoire breathes, relieved. They aren't coming back to the house halfway to Southampton. If Violet or Teddy (or even herself, for that matter) forgets anything, they aren't turning back. They are on a tight schedule as it is.

"The cruise leaves at exactly twelve noon, and it is seven o'clock now. It'll take us two hours to get there, and we'll have about three hours to board. Sound good?"

"Crystal clear," says Teddy, and Violet nods.

Victoire smiles happily. This was working out fantastic, so far. They had no bumps getting the cruise booked - which was one of her worries - and now they are leaving without a hitch. Dominique had agreed to watch the house and the dog. Victoire links hands with her husband, and together, they slip out the door, both with mile-wide smiles on their faces.

It had been so long since they'd gone on a family vacation, all of them together - Violet had completed her GSCEs and Teddy had been in and out of the hospital too often for them to be able to get away. Still in partial remission, the doctors had said, but things are looking better and better - the doctors had said there was a very good chance of complete remission. They had gone out for a celebratory dinner that night at the local Italian restaurant when they'd heard that news.

If happiness - well, a mix of happiness and utter relief - felt like this, Victoire wanted to be happy forever.

* * *

a/n - Much love to my beta Ellie. Things are beginning to pick up! I'd love to hear your thoughts/comments/opinions :) To answer questions posed in previous reviews: This is set in 2046, and Violet is sixteen.


	3. Chapter 3

"And we're off!" exclaims Teddy, childlike glee evident in tone, like he was a five year old rather than a middle-aged man. "There's so much to do here, for two weeks, we have to get started..."

Violet nods in agreement. "Look! They have special classes for sports, Mama. There's football and running and tennis and cricket and bowling and..."

"One thing at a time, Violet," Victoire reminds her daughter.

"Yeah. I know. But Mama, look at all the things we can do, isn't it amazing?"

"I know, darling..." And it was! Honest to goodness, there is a stitching class, and God help her if she wasn't going to go to that. "But we'll need to plan things first."

"Yeah. Right. But, Mama, look at this - they have a mini Olympics going on! It starts tommorrow, Mama, and it finishes in five days... ooh, look at this, there's running - 100 metre, 200 metre, 400 metre, 1500 metre..."

"And I'm sure you can beat them all," says Teddy, grinning in earnest at his daughter.

"Yes," says Victoire,"love, of course. But we need to plan what we're going to do, because there's still these silly little important things called mealtimes, darlings." She knew only too well that the two of them would exhaust themselves until there was no more exhausting to do. They had to pace themselves, especially her husband, with the condition that he was in... she didn't want to make her stressing too obvious, but it was only partial, only partial, and she wanted him to be okay...

"If it means I can do the ship Olympics, I'll get highlighters and planners and I'll even colour-code the bloody thing," announced Violet cheerful, rocking back and forth on her runners.

* * *

There was so much to do. The boarding went smoothly, much to Victoire's relief; they found their room easily, too, with the help of a crew member. The room was small; two beds, a bathroom, and a television. There wasn't much else, and there wasn't a window, either. Victoire could see this becoming too small once they unpacked, but other than that, she had no complaints about their vacation so far.

Violet was on her bed, trunk by her side and pamplets spread out in front of her, circling things with red pen. Various sports - including an indoor skating rink and a weight room - and all sorts of water things, water volleyball, slides, pools, and the like. There was definitely no shortage of things to do, especially because it would take two full days on board to get to the Carribean from the Southampton port, which they'd just left a little under an hour ago.

"Night-time swimming, sixteen years of age and older," says Violet, grinning. "It even has-"

"No," says Victoire.

"Why not?" challenges Violet.

"Unless your father wants to watch you, I'm not giving up my sleep..."

"We'll see how worn out I am from all of the things we're doing today," says Teddy. He picks up a pamphlet and flicks though it, leaning back against the pillow. "I think your Mama would be interested in this wine tasting..."

Hmm... that didn't sound too bad. They hadn't had any half-decent wine since Italy three years ago, and while Victoire hadn't even gotten drunk before, even she could appreciate a few glasses of wine.

"Sounds lovely," Victoire decides. Violet wasn't old enough, but there was surely things to keep her occupied, and Teddy and herself could swing around and pick her up before heading to dinner.

* * *

"And we'll be back at-"

"Four, Mama," Violet interrupts. "I know. You've already told me."

Victoire sighs, still feeling a little nervous. "Well, okay. But you have your mobile on you, yes?"

"Right here." Violet waves the device in her mothers' face.

"Be careful," warns Victoire. "And don't go too far. We'll be back at four, and if you get lost -"

"Talk to a crew member, don't get myself more lost," Violet finishes, once again.

Teddy rests a hand on the back of his wife. "Love, I think you've covered everything. She'll be fine, okay?"

"All right," says Victoire, sighing. There wasn't anything wrong in a little caution - they should know that. Violet slipped away from them, and taking off her bathing suit cover and mobile phone and stuffing them in a pay-per-use locker, swam right in to the pool, splashing as she made a lap and avoided other children.

"Let her be," Teddy murmurs, taking her hand. "She'll be okay. She's a smart girl, our Violet."

"I know," sighs Victoire, leaning in to him and missing the wince of pain he gave. "I'm just worried, she's my baby..."

"And she's growing up," says Teddy lowly. They were in one of the corridors now - the hall where the wine-testing was being held was close by. "We're going to have to let her go one day. We don't want to, but we'll have to."

Victoire sighs - a deep, heavy sigh, one that conveyed her mixed feelings. She felt old, so old - she didn't have to watch her daughter anymore. Violet was a big girl, a growing girl.

As they slip through the door, Victoire misses Teddy's wince of pain as his hip hit the door.

* * *

Violet pauses, coughing. She had a great set of lungs from all of the running she did, but a younger kid had splashed around while she was swimming by and some of it had gotten down her throat. She coughed again, the chlorine itching her lungs.

"Okay, there?"

She turns around to see a boy, her age or a year younger, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine, thank you," she says, smiling at his concern. Judging from the accent rolling off of his tongue that was similar but not the same as her own, she was guessing he was Australian.

"Ah, that's good," the boy says, laughing. He's an excitable person, and probably an inch shorter than her; blonde hair, and thin, thinner than she was. But he had a smile that seemed to be almost too big for his face, and his eyes shone brightly.

Violet was about to swim away when he introduces himself, amidst another splash from surrounding children. "Will Myers, Austrailian," he says, and her prediction was right. "Let me guess - British? Londoner?"

"Close - well, not really, but it was a good guess," she says, with a small smile. "A Northerner, I am. Violet Lupin."

"Violet's my mother's name," Will blurts, and then laughs. "I don't think that's too great of an introduction. Sorry 'bout that."

"No worries, you sure have a fine mother, then," jokes Violet, and he joined in on her laughter. Her breath was caught, and surely she could continue to swim if she wanted to, but this Will seemed to want to talk to her, and when had Violet Nymphadora Lupin ever said no to human communication? Not often.

"Vacation, hm? Who are you here with?"

"Mama and Papa," says Violet, as they waded in to the deeper end of the pool. "You?"

"Family vacation," he says, a grin tugging at his lips. "Mum, dad, little sister Lizzie and older brother Colin. Even Grandma tagged along, but she's all for Bingo."

"That's a lot of you," replies Violet, and for her, it was; her mother had a big extended family, but her father didn't, and she had one first cousin on both sides combined. It had always been Mama, Papa, Aunt Dom, and Uncle Louis for her; she couldn't fathom having a large family. Once upon a time, she had wished for it, and there was still some times when she ached for a little brother or a little sister, but it didn't matter any more.

"Only child?" He asks. As the water got deeper, Violet continued to wade, but she could see him casually doggy-paddling (as Uncle Harry had jokingly called it, once) across.

"Yeah, the one and only," responds Violet. Will nodded, his almost abnormally large grin spreading wider, if possible. A muffled yell sounded behind him, and he sighed.

"That's my call," the excitable Australian says. "I'll see you, Violet Lupin."

* * *

"This one," the man explains, gazing at the wine as though it was his lover, "is the rarest you can get, the highest quality. Made in the fields of Florence. Let me tell you, folks, Italy has never made any better wine."

"I'm sure they have," whispers Teddy, smiling. Victoire nudges him to keep quiet, but on closer inspection, she was smiling, too. They'd been here for a few hours, and there was a slight buzz on her, but she could still think quite well. Just a little more... uninhibited.

A small glass is passed around, and Victoire took a sip, before passing it on to her husband. "Mmm, I like this one," she murmurs - it was a little bitter, yes, but there was that indescribable flavour that hit her tongue and pleased her taste buds.

"Not bad, Vic," agrees her husband, nodding. They'd tried a few already - Chilean and Italian, to French, to Canadian and Old English, to Brazilian and Spanish. All sorts of flavours, some dull and bland, some bitter and tangy, some light and fresh, like the dandelion wine they'd tasted earlier.

The wine-tasting had gone by quite quickly, and it is exactly four o'clock when they reach the pool on the top deck, children running about. After a quick scan, Victoire found her daughter, who had just exited the pool and was towel-drying her hair. Catching her mothers' eye, Violet smiles and made her way back, buttoning up her swimsuit cover.

"Have fun?" asks Victoire.

"Like you wouldn't know," says Violet, and they all laughed. Only Teddy, however, felt the brief knife of pain slashing across his stomach, and played down the wince that almost surfaced.

* * *

a/n - This is unbetaed, and no doubt there is some tense/grammar mistakes. I'll replace this chapter with the beta'ed one as soon as I get it back! Enjoy. WC: 1,710


	4. Chapter 4

Victoire sat on the edge of their bed, with a glass of cold water in her hand. Oh, how she wished they'd gotten a room with a balcony, or more space, even. This was practically a broom closet. She took a careful sip of the ice water, sighing as the cold trickled down her throat. She was exhausted - her bones were screaming at her to go to bed, to fall asleep, but her mind was whirling and wheeling with images and feelings and pictures. She couldn't fall asleep, even if she wanted to.

She looked over at her husband. She had felt young, today - like they were that mid-twenties couple in Italy again, with restless nights in Italian hotels and road trips to Rome, to Paris, to anywhere they wanted to go. But now, sitting on the edge of her bed, hunched over with her eyes burning and head hurting, she felt old. There wasn't any other way to describe it; there was grey glittering in her hair and wrinkles around her eyes, a slowness beginning to develop in the way she walked. Even Teddy, the perpetual child, didn't seem as old as she was. Maybe it was his playful, childlike nature that kept him youthful. She envied him, just a little bit.

Violet was snoozing peacefully in her bed, legs and arms sprawled out starfish-like. Teddy was writhing again - he had nightmares sometimes, and he'd never speak of them and she wouldn't pry, but she had a pretty good idea as to what they were about - dreams that were a vivid reminder of the disease that was in him, the disease that eventually killed his father, when he was a young child, and his mother by extension - her grief had been so painful she hadn't lasted much longer. He writhed in the sheets again, making a low keening sound, twisting and wincing.

She wondered if anything was hurting him - Teddy wasn't the complainer, no, but he usually let her know if anything was afflicting him too badly. If it was a mild pain, he wouldn't tell her. Victoire knew that. He wouldn't want to 'ruin' their trip, cause them any difficulties. As if - he was the reason they were here, right? It had been on that crayon-scrawled bucket list.

Victoire stood up, frowning at the cracks of her bones. Placing the glass of water on the table next to her, she tossed a bathrobe over her shoulders. Maybe a walk would do her some good.

The wind of the ocean was nothing like the wind of their surban area. Here, it was more insistant, stronger, determined to overpower her. She felt like the girl in that old film her mother and her had watched - it was almost fifty years old, now - Titanic. Ah, yes, Rose and Jack. How she loved that movie growing up. Cried countless times over it.

She clutched the bar and looked down at the sea. The ocean was vast and dark around the boat, and she could imagine they were only a single drop in the ocean. The cruise ship was alive behind her, music and outdoor movies and the night-time pool. She was sure there were parties, all sorts of things, but it was relatively quiet on this deck, and the only person other than her was one crew member.

Her eyelids were becoming heavier and heavier, and as her thoughts turned in to memories - which quickly evaporated back in to thoughts - she decided she'd better make her way back to her cabin.

When she got back, it was just as stuffy as she left it; claustrophobic. Teddy was still, but his face was scrunched together. A nightmare or a pain, she couldn't tell which.

Victoire laid her robe across the bedpost and slid back in to the sheets, facing away from her husband. She was worried, so worried, but she let her worries be pushed to the back of her mind as she fell in to a light and volatile sleep.

* * *

Violet woke up cheerful and happy the next morning; there were no birds in the middle of the sea to wake her, but she'd always been an early riser, almost painfully so.

She looked over at Mama and Papa - they were both sleeping, and she couldn't do much before they awoke. Mama looked tired, even in her sleep. She wondered why - they had all gotten a nice, long sleep the night before.

Papa's brow was furrowed in his sleep, and he kept shifting. Mama usually laughed at him, and said he'd always been restless, day and night, so Violet didn't think too much of it. If something was wrong, they would tell her, right?

Violet was brushing her hair out in the small bathroom when Mama awoke, wrapping her bathrobe around her body and peeking in.

"It's just past seven, Violet, what are you doing up?"

Violet shrugged and braided her hair carelessly, swinging it over one shoulder. Mama yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Nevermind that. I need the shower, are you finished?" She nodded, and Mama stepped in the bathroom.

Papa woke up to the trickle of water, rubbing his eyes just like Mama had and giving Violet a curious look.

"What are you doing up so early, Vee?"

It was unfortunate for her that both of her parents slept in when they could. Being in bed after nine in the morning made her restless and antsy.

It took a while for them to get ready; Mama looked more tired than usual and although Papa was always happy and joyful and joking, she could tell that he was antsy about something.

She jumped up and down slightly as she waited; a habit that had been born from all those years of energy and running. She always needed to move, to be doing something.

They went down to breakfast. Her father winced as he took a step, but Violet was sure it wasn't anything. It couldn't be anything; something this little couldn't mean that much.

So she shrugged her shoulders and took another step forward. There was lots to do today, and she was determined to do a good portion of it.

* * *

It was rare that she let her inner child get to her, but even as a proper adult she could admit that it was, as Violet called it, brilliant.

If she were younger, much younger, she probably would have followed Violet on to the mass of waterslides, but she was tired from last night. The fresh sea air awoke her a little bit. The wind blew her knee-high skirt, and the air was the perfect combination of coolness and humidity.

Her sixteen-year-old daughter had shouted with glee, and had hastily stuffed her clothes in her bag before running over to the waterslides, laughing and screaming like a younger child.

"She never calms down," Teddy says, but his tone is endearing and she knows exactly what he means. She has so much energy, so much life.  
Victoire smiles a little bit and sighs wistfully. "That isn't a bad thing."

"I know," says her husband, and Victoire leans in to him. Years upon years of being married, and she still feels as comfortable in his arms as she did when she was younger, if not more.

"This was a good idea," says Victoire, leaning against Teddy. She says it slowly and carefully.

"It was," Teddy replies, his voice marginally softer than usual, "it's been a while since we've done it."

"I miss it," says Victoire, shortly. And it's true - she does. She misses the adventure of finding something new, of doing something new, learning about a new place. She has grown so accustomed to where she lives in the suburbs with her family that she feels so surburban - not that that's a bad thing, of course, but she'd always been so adventerous as a child. She'd never envisioned settling down. There was still things she wanted to do, but once she had gotten in to that routine, she kept telling herself that she'd do it later, until years have passed by and she hasn't done anything but knit and work and drive to the city.

"Me too," he says. They were so free then, so young... where had all the time gone?

Teddy winces and shifts, and this time, Victoire notices it.

"What is it?" she asks, eyes narrowing. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he insists. His arm is still wrapped around her shoulders, but he now seems tense and uncomfortable. His voice has changed from soft and reminiscent to distant, and Victoire frowns. The man should know by now, she had hoped, to not keep things from her, no matter how well-meaning he was. Keeping his pain from her didn't help - it only made the situation worse.

"Are you lying to me?" asks Victoire. The mother persona is coming on - the stern, no nonsense, be home by eight kind. Her hands are on her hips, and she looks quite like her mother right then.

His arm tightens against her side and brings her closer to him. Teddy kisses the top of her head and shakes his.

"No," he says, sighing. "It's just a bruise, Vic. Nothing to worry about, I promise, love."

* * *

Here it is!


	5. Chapter 5

The day passes by quickly, in a blur of exploring all of the possibilities that are avalible to them. Violet announces that the waterslides are even more brilliant that she thought, and after lunch, they lounge on the deck and talk with other people. Violet sees a blonde boy and walks up to him - Victoire pays no mind, she's always made friends quickly and easily. Herself and Teddy talk with a childless couple from Finland, a tall willowy woman with high cheekbones and her equally as tall blonde husband.

The rest of the afternoon is simply exploring, peeking in to the athletics arena and watching a short animation film outside. They stop by the indoor zoo, play a game of bowling, and by the time it's dinner, all three of them are exhausted and happy.

Victoire slumps in the assigned seating, quickly remembering to straighten her back. It's finally dinner time, and they are served a variety of different meals - some lavish, some simple, all delicious. Violet adores the sushi and Victoire dislikes it, preferring the chocolate mousse and cake to Teddy's lasagna. They all agree it had been a magnificent day.

After the dinner, they attend an acrobatics show, dancers in various colours twisting and jumping around from place to place. Victoire is entranced; her mother had always reminded her to be graceful growing up, and this was all sorts of beauty and grace, like nothing she'd ever seen before. Victoire overhears her daughter whispering to Teddy that running is much more credible of a sport, and they both laugh quietly, under their breaths.

They are all laughing, and they are all okay. Teddy is okay. Victoire falls asleep with a slight smile on her face and the wonderful feeling of being younger than she actually is.

* * *

It's not coming back, and he knows it.

This is a different kind of pain. Like something is clawing at his abdomen, desperate to tear him apart. Pressing the ends of a thousand hot nails into his stomach. He groans. He doesn't want to wake his wife up - or his daughter. They have been enjoying themselves so much here...

Victoire has been worried for so long. She needs this, Teddy thinks. Life was so much simpler when it was just them. He loves Violet, more than anything, but things are different with her. His wife is still the same woman he fell in love with, but there was a shift, however subtle, from a carefree young woman to a responsible wife and mother.

He didn't want to bother them anymore. This was sure to go away - it was most likely just something he ate. There was a pretty big probability he was lying to himself; this is something that he most likely needed to get checked out. But he didn't want to put anymore pressure on Vic or Violet - she's preparing for track and field, cross-country, whatever running events she did, and she had school to worry about, too. He remembered how stressed the GSCEs and his A-Levels made him all the way back when he was in secondary school, all of those years ago. Victoire is Victoire - always worrying about someone, like a natural instinct. He'd stopped telling her to calm down, because an unworried Victoire is a rare creature, one he's only seen twice.

They had enough to worry about.

It was probably something he ate.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Violet is awake and alert, chattering on about what they have planned.

"I hear the waterslide that goes over the side of the ship is brilliant," she gushes. "And the track is spectacular there, too. I can't wait to run there!"

"Isn't the track and field season done, Violet?" asks Victoire - she's positive Violet already ran her last race.

Violet rolls her eyes at her mother and takes a bite out of her toast. "Yes. But the cross-country season is not. I'll have to train more, since cross-country requires more endurance. I'll be running 5K in the school race," she explains.

Victoire nods and pretends she understands. She doesn't really know what her daughter is talking about; she never played any sorts of sports in school.

Neither did her parents or her siblings, and to her knowledge, her nephew doesn't either. They are a relatively unathletic family, with the obvious exception being Violet.

"You'll do great," says Victoire, and that she does not doubt. Violet is a born natural.

"You'll leave the rest of them in the dust, Vee," says Teddy, and Violet laughs and agrees.

"I know," she says. "But I have to practice to do that."

"Ah," says Teddy, as if this is shocking to him. He pulls a comical expression and his daughter laughs before looking around to see if anyone noticed.

"Are you embarrassed, Vee?" laughs Teddy, pulling another face and mimicking her subtle movements.

Violet laughs and Victoire smiles, sipping her tea. "Only sometimes," she says teasingly, and Teddy clutches his heart as if he's been wounded.

"You're almost as bad as Uncle George," says Victoire, smiling, and all three of them laugh together.

They headed for the fourth deck after breakfast. Teddy's pretending to stuggle to read a map of the ship, and Violet is rolling her eyes at him, bouncing up and down in her runners with pent-up energy. Victoire doesn't know where she gets it from - she herself could get twelve hours of sleep a night and still roll out of bed feel as though she had been run over by a truck. Violet's energy is something uniquely her own.

There's a little golf ball symbolizing where the mini-golf course is, and Violet looks over her father's shoulder and leads them in the right direction as Victoire follows her husband and daughter, listening amusedly to their banter.

"Left, Vee?"

"No, right."

"This right?"

"Papa, your other right!"

The line isn't long for admission and the morning is spent laughing. Teddy had got a hole-in-one on the first hole, and proceeded to rub it in his daughter's face teasingly, while Victoire hung back. Violet scrunched her eyes up competitively and glared at her father, putting an unnecessary amount of concentration into hitting her ball.

"It's just a game, Violet," reminds Victoire.

"That's what the losers say," says Violet while smiling. She swings back her arm, prepared to hit the ball, when Teddy wolf-whistles and Violet breaks her concentration; the ball skims past the hole and Violet grumbles while Teddy laughs. Victoire thinks they make quite the lot, father and daughter. They're a bit more fun-loving than she is - not that she doesn't like to have fun (who doesn't?) but they are a bit more carefree than they are.

Teddy leans over to pick up his golf ball when they're heading to the third hole. Violet's already there, penciling their scores into a little booklet. He winces, and his wife notices.

"Are you okay?" Victoire asks. She knows that her tone is a little sharp, but she doesn't want Teddy to sugarcoat his pain for her - frankly, she's a little tired of that.

"I'm fine, love. Violet's waiting," he says, changing the topic. Victoire frowns at him - the silly man doesn't think she notices when something hurts. He quickly rearranges his face to hide his discomfort, and it's gone. Violet never notices.

"You tell me the truth, Edward Lupin." He frowns - rarely does she ever say his full name.

Teddy sighs, and Victoire waits. She's not going to accept I'm fine. She accepted that the last time, and where did he end up? In the hospital. "We'll talk about it later, Vic," he says. He isn't frowning, but he isn't smiling, either. "Violet's waiting for us. Let's go."

She knows she's going to hold him to that. With that in the back of her mind, she follows Violet and Teddy to the next hole, where they continue playing a rather competitive game of mini-golf while Victoire hangs back and does what she does best - worry. It's practically ingrained into her, the need to worry about the ones she loves.

She listens to Teddy's laugh, and if she listens a little closer, she'll see that it's a laugh that's almost desperate to hide the pain. Her noble, brave, courageous, stupid husband.

Why couldn't he just let her help?

He continues to where Violet is, teasing her and prodding her so that she loses her balance and misses the shot. She turns around and fake-pouts at him, before grabbing her golf ball and determindely telling him she's going to re-do her shot, because it's his fault she missed.

Victoire has never been athletic, and while the golf club only seems to be an extension of Violet's hands, hers feels awkward and heavy in her hands and she frowns, before pulling back the club and attempting to swing - when the club flies right past the ball, it pulls at her shoulders, and Violet laughs.

"Your ball is over there, Mama," she says teasingly. Victoire smiles up at her daughter and shakes her head, before hitting the ball gently. It veers to the left, but...

"At least you hit the ball this time," says Violet.

* * *

a/n - unbetaed. Constructive criticism is highly appreciate - even a word or two is good. New revelations are coming soon. I've been busy, and will continue to be busy steadily until the end of July. This is probably the only consistent work I'll have going... WC: 1,601


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

* * *

She wishes they had a room with a sea view. The sea reminds her of home, of Shell Cottage, Mama and Papa, Dominique and Louis and all of her extended family. Victoire leans more into her pillow, pressing her face against the soft, clean-smelling fabric and relaxes into the warm, comforting sheets, with one of Teddy's arms around her waist.

It only felt like minutes later when she woke up to a low keening sound - to her left, Violet's sleeping silently. Victoire twists around and faces Teddy. The lines in his forehead are more prominent than ever, and he seems to be simultaneously moaning and gasping in pain.

Victoire only freezes for a moment, before leaning close to him.

"Teddy," she whispers, harshly. She doesn't touch him - she doesn't know what kind of pain she is, if she can do anything to help him or not.

She whispers again. "Teddy," she says, and it's a bit louder - a rustling behind her tells her that Violet must have awoken.

"Mama?" she asks sleepily, slumped against her pillows. "It's early."

Victoire doesn't respond to her daughter, but instead pokes Teddy's shoulder, and he jerks awake.

"Vic?" he asks, and his voice isn't strong, but brittle and weak, like it could blow away with the wind.

"Teddy..." Victoire sighs, and she's pretty sure he knows what she's trying to tell him.

"Papa, are you alright?" asks Violet, becoming more alert as she sits up in her bed, the sheets falling to her waist.

"Yeah," he says, "yes, Vee, I'm fine. You don't have to worry, Vic." She frowns at this - he should know she's not going to just let him be, just lie back against the sheets and fall asleep like nothing's wrong.

"No, you aren't," she says, and tosses her legs over the side of the bed and flips the switch for the light on, basking the room in a bright glow. Teddy winces again, and fails to conceal it.

"Where does it hurt?" she asks, and while her tone is soft, there's an underlying demand for him to comply. Violet watches silently.

"Here," he says, pointing to a spot just off of the right on his lower stomach.

"Is it coming and going, or..."

"No, it's continuous."

"We have to go to the ship's infirmary," Victoire demands.

"No," Teddy insists. Violet makes a small sound from behind them. "I'm fine, really, it's just probably food poisoning or something - sushi doesn't go down well with me, you know that."

"That's bollocks and you know it," snaps Victoire, and she can feel Violet's widening eyes - Papa may curse, but Mama never does. It's never happened before, and the word feels unfamiliar and thick on her tongue.

"It's eleven-thirty, Vic," says Teddy, nodding towards the clock. "We can wait a few hours, love. Nothing's going to change overnight."

Victoire's expression did not change - it was evident to him she didn't believe a word he was saying. They weren't taking this risk again, and the words he'd just said were downright lies - things could change overnight, and the three of them knew that. It was what had happened when he was diagnosed, after all.

"The infirmary is open all hours," says Violet, and both Teddy and Victoire are shocked to hear her speaking. "Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, Papa. And at this time of night, it ought to be empty," their daughter reason.

Victoire glares at him, nodding in agreement with Violet's words.

Teddy looks from one to the other - Violet, with her bed-head blonde hair and wide eyes, and Victoire, messy hair and circles underneath her eyes, clutching her nightgown and giving him that look that he's learned to dread.

The cruise is still alive, all blinking lights and chattering voices above. Teddy is walking slowly, eyes half closed and leaning against Victoire. Violet is pale white, trying to be as brave as she's supposed to be.

"Where is it?" whispered Victoire.

"Just here," says Violet, squinting down on a map.

* * *

The ship's doctor is nice, and he clearly knows what he's doing - Victoire breathes a sigh of relief. He has what seems to be a mix of a Middle Eastern and English accent, and it sounds very smooth and calm to her ears.

"Stomach pain?" the doctor asks, and Teddy nods. He points to his abdomen, the exact place where it hurts - the lower right portion. The doctor feels, takes his hand away, and frowns.

"May I see some identification, sir?"

Victoire's glad she brought her purse as she digs through it and hands the man Teddy's identification. He nods.

"Forty-eight years old, correct?"

Teddy nods. "We normally wouldn't be bothering you with this nonsense, sir, but my wife insists."

"He has just recently survived cancer," Victoire cuts it, glaring at Teddy. He's trying to play it down, she notices, like it's nothing serious.

The doctor narrows his eyes, tipping his head back and thinking. The infirmary is quaint, exactly what one would think it would be; white, with the simple things. There's a fancier institution on the boat somewhere, according to Violet - almost like a miniature hospital. On a boat.

"Have you noticed any pain travelling in your lower abdomen area? Has it gone from somewhere around your navel to the lower right?"

Teddy closes his eyes. "It has, sir. I can't say I've been thinking too much of it. Thought it was food poisoning, but when I woke up about twenty minutes ago, I didn't think so anymore."

"It's definitely not food poisoning, if my assumptions are correct," says the doctor, adjusting his white coat and standing up. He pulls a book from a cabinet and flips to a page before setting it down and nodding.

"Has your stomach been sensitive lately, in terms of digestion?"

"I've been eating light for the past few days, I don't have an appetite," says Teddy.

The doctor nods, like this confirms his suspicion.

"Sit down," the doctor says. Teddy sits on the table in the centre of the room, before wincing and standing up again.

The doctor presses two fingers to his abdomen, and Victoire notices her husband clenching his hands into small fists, pressing little half-moons into the surface of his palm.

"If my assumption is correct - and I am inclined to believe it is - I think you have appendicitis," said the doctor. "Very rare in older adults, and most often found in children ages eight to fourteen. This is definitely something I haven't seen before. We'll have to get you to surgery immediately."

The quiet that followed was stifling. Victoire was part relieved and part terrified at the same time - _appendicitis?_ But at least it wasn't anything more serious. _It could be still_, the narcissistic part of herself reminded her. _They haven't looked any closer. It could be coming back. The symptoms were stomach pain too last time, weren't they?_

It wasn't the doctor, nor Teddy or Victoire, who spoke next. It was Violet.

"He'll be okay, right?" she asks.

The doctor nods. "Appendicitis, while painful, is an extremely risk-free surgery. I will call down the surgeon from the first medical ward - the bigger one - and in a few hours or less, you'll be having it removed. This may be a bit of a shock to you, but the sooner the better. Judging by the firmness and pain of your lower abdomen, I'd say sooner than later. There's a ninety-nine percent chance it is appendicitis. There's nothing else that has those exact symptoms."

The doctor turns to Victoire, letting Teddy sink in the information.

"There will be an added cost. The cruise will subsidize partially, you'll-"

"I'll discuss the cost after," says Victoire, sounding very frantic. She'd have to get a hold of Harry and Ginny, tell Molly, of course, her parents, Dom, and Louis. He'd probably be in recovery when they got to Turks and Caicos the day after the next, as well.

The doctor nods, and using the phone in the corner of the room, he calls and speaks very briefly to the surgeon, and hangs up.

"They can take you immediately. Can you walk up the stairs, sir, or would you prefer a stretcher to be brought down?"

Teddy shakes his head. "I can walk," he says, sounding a little dazed at being told he would be in surgery very, very shortly. Violet's skin seems almost translucent, and Victoire is swaying on her feet, trying to regain her balance.

"Oh, Teddy," she murmurs, as they make their way at a pace where Teddy can walk comfortably.

"It's just one thing after the other, Vic," says Teddy. He turns to Violet. "I'm sorry, Vee. I wanted to make this a vacation you could remember."

"It certainly will be one to remember," says Victoire sharply, helping Teddy into the lift as another wave of crippling pain came over him and he almost crumples.

Despite the circumstances, Violet and Teddy laugh. "I don't think we'll ever forget this," said Violet.

* * *

a/n - Hi! It's me again. The lateness of this chapter is almost ridiculous. I would just like to note that I don't know anything about appendicitis first or second hand, and research can only tell you so much. So I hope this was okay! Word count: 1,579.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

Violet finds the white of the waiting room stifling and boring; the colour is so bland that it is suffocating them. There isn't anything to concentrate on but her dad, and right now would be a wonderful time for a distraction - anything but this, the dullness of the room. The well-stocked hospital surprises her, but it is necessary, after all. Things like this must happen every once in a while.

They just happened to be the unlucky ones.

She's always been closer with her father than her mother; no doubt she loves her Mama, of course, but she's always been her father's daughter. She knows they share the same vibrant energy, the tireless curiousity, the limitless energy. Mama has always been so intense; once, when she was little, she overheard Aunt Dom say that Mama loved too much, too much because someday her love will become too much for her to handle.

Violet knows what she's seen as - happy, athletic, the optimistic, bright young girl. She's going places, that one, her grandfather says. But sometimes they don't really look beyond the surface. A sheet has been thrown over her, a happy, optimistic, one-dimensional one, and in times like these, she doesn't know what to think of it.

Mama breaks her thoughts by silently taking her daughter's hand. The familiarness of her mother's touch is comforting, to say the least - she doesn't know how Mama did it, all of those months knowing Papa's health was touch and go, and having all of the weight on her shoulders.

Violet leans her head on her mother's shoulder. They're the only ones in the waiting room; footsteps from above could be heard, voices chatting, and the air still tastes like the sea, salty and unfamiliar. Her mother winds fingers through Violet's hair, brushing it softly.

She listens to the shallow breathing of her mother, concentrating on nothing else but that.

"I love you, Vee," says Victoire. Her nickname - the one her Papa coined for her - sounds foreign on her mother's tongue, and Violet tenses but relaxes into her mother.

"I love you too, Mama," whispers Violet, and even though there's talking outside of the waiting room, noise all around them, the only thing she can hear is her voice.

"My baby girl," she says, tiredly, sounding old and worn. Those three words almost tear her heart out; her mother, how hard this must be on her mother. Papa, she had told Violet once, is her best friend and her husband, and there is nothing in the world (except for you, Violet, of course) that is more wonderful.

"Mama," says Violet, only a trace of a whisper.

But there is something else in that room with them, as well; a little thing she likes to call hope. They are both a little bit hopeful; the doctor said it is risk free, right? And it's not what it was before. Violet knows her cousin had this done when he was eleven and was perfectly fine and playing football again within two weeks. It's a small comfort, but it's a comfort nonetheless and Violet can't help but be grateful for it.

* * *

The minutes pass slow and long - they could go somewhere, get something to eat, but even though Victoire's stomach is loud and grumbling, she doesn't feel the need to go and eat. She can't eat; she's too worried. (That's her, of course, though. She can't change.) Violet's shifty and restless next to her, and they are both too nervous to do anything but tap their feet and wait.

Victoire's counting the ridges in the ceiling when what appears to be a nurse - smiling and bright and cheerful, with the insigna of the cruise ship line sewed into her uniform - comes into the room, waving at them.

"He's perfectly fine, Mrs. Lupin. Everything went very well," she said. "The doctor will give you information about the wound and what you are to do with it. He should rest in bed for the next day - by tomorrow at lunch, he should be able to walk around again, but no strenuous physical activity. Mr. Lupin is perfectly coherent, and would like to speak to you," she grins a little, before waving them forward. Victoire and Violet jump up quickly, following her lead.

The room is white and blank, just like the waiting area.

Teddy's propped up on pillows, and Victoire rushes to his side. A faint sense of nostalgia hits her, as she's running to him; this is what had happened last time, right? But he's okay now, it was just an odd incident that could happen to anyone. Luckily, the cruise ship was prepared for emergencies like these (and thank God they were!) and she was very grateful. He wasn't pale, she noticed, just tired-looking.

"I didn't feel anything," he laughs, but stops - laughing must hurt, because of the incision.

"Don't laugh," says Victoire, but her words come out soft and worried instead of sharp and harsh.

"Planning on ruining my fun, Vic?" asks Teddy gently, teasingly. Violet laughs quietly. The whole room seems to be under the spell of a whisper - all quiet voices.

"Bugger this," says Teddy loudly. "I'm sorry, Vee. Go have fun, kiddo, go do something. I'll be able to walk around tomorrow, and that's when we land in Turks and Caicos, is it not? We can do whatever the bloody hell we want then. Now, go get your mama and yourself something to eat. You both look dead on your feet."

Violet laughs slightly again but complies with his orders, nodding and rushing off.

When Violet leaves, the room becomes silent once more.

"It doesn't hurt, Teddy?"

"No. Some sort of numbing gel, something like that," he says. "Quite neat stuff, actually. Of course, I was out, but they put it on before I went out."

Victoire doesn't say anything, but shakes her head instead. What a cruise to remember. It was going to be a vacation to last a lifetime in the first place, but this made the trip even more memorable. She could tell, without him saying it, that he was grateful that they weren't in Turks and Caicos when the surgery needed to be done.

"Perfect timing," Teddy jokes, like he's reading her mind. She smiles down from her perch at his side - softly, tenderly, lovingly. He sees her expression and his face changes into a mask of relaxed tranquillity. "I'm okay, Vic," he says. "I'll be up and moving in no time."

"I know," she sighs. She does know, but...

"You're worried," he says automatically, and she should be astonished that he knows her so well, but she's not even shocked one bit - he was like a mind-reader, he was. "You don't need to be."

Victoire sighs again, her shoulders heaving, moving up and down as if there was a weight on them, pushing gravity against her. "Teddy, I know. I just..."

"Can't help it," he says, smiling.

* * *

The closest cafe is bustling with early-morning families and couples, all waiting in line to get something to eat. There's still a good six people in front of Violet. Rubbing underneath her eyes, she leans back and forth on her feet to try and keep herself awake - she'd always been a good, heavy sleeper, and a night without sleep for her was extremely uncommon.

Everything seems to be blurry - she doesn't realize there's a hand waving in front of her until Will appears, grinning broadly in front of her, all tanned skin and messy hair and surfing shorts.

"Viola," he says. His whole demeanor reminds her of the beach - he's something that would fit right in with the sand and the waves, like a poster-boy for the beach.

"It's Violet," she says, yawning. "Almost there."

"Violet, then," he says. "Fancy seeing you around here."

Violet yawns again in response, and Will laughs.

"Late night partying, yeah?"

A few images come to Violet's mind - sitting in the waiting room with her Mama, her Papa as he laughs despite the pain in his stomach, waking up at an ungodly hour for an emergency surgery that could have been her Papa's cancer coming back again.

But she doesn't say anything. "Yeah, something like that."

"Well, good for you," says Will, still grinning cheerily. "Oughta have fun, here's the best place for it. Isn't it a coincidence that we keep running into each other?"

If she had the energy, she would have told him that they'd only really met twice (and he didn't even remember her name) but since she was beginning to sway on her feet, Violet just nodded and agreed.

"Yeah. A coincidence."

Walking back with a tray of teas and pastries, Violet thought about the encounter. He just appeared out of nowhere, didn't he? She didn't even see his family with him or anything; that was strange.

She shakes her head. Her mind is hazy with sleep deprivation, and she barely remembers the encounter even though it happened minutes ago. It was probably just a coincidence. She'd think it over later.

* * *

a/n - Chapter seven is up! Under a bit of a time constraint, and I've run out of pre-written chapters, but this shall be updated (at least!) once a week, if I can manage it. For the Long Haul Comp III.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight_

* * *

Teddy insists, but Victoire isn't sure.

"Go out," he says. "I know Vee has been dying to see the Cirque de Soliel performance. I'll stay here. I have my mobile right next to me if I need anything; I'll be fine, Vic."

Victoire sighs and thinks about the situation - Teddy's fine, really, only in a little bit of pain and nothing he can't get up from if the situation is needed. He has the mobile right there... but it feels a little bit unfair not to bring him, because wasn't he the one who suggested the Cirque du Soliel performance in the first place?

Ultimately, Violet's need won out and Victoire conceded.

The show is held in a dark, wide auditorium, with light effects and the whole package. One acrobat wraps her leg around a curtain hanging from the cieling and lets go, and she looks like she's going to fall, right on her head -

But she catches herself, wrapping her leg around once more and pulling herself up, all while looking as graceful as could be.

Music plays, loud, quick beats that the acrobats swing in time to, all in costumes. There's one swinging right over their heads, and they're both watching with interest - imagine the training, the energy, the time that has to be put into all of this!

It's almost magical, and by the end, Victoire can see why Violet had wanted to go; it was spectacular, the acrobatics, humans pushing their bodies to the absolute limit of flexibility.

"I could be like that," says Violet, as they're on their way back to Teddy. "If I continued doing gymnastics. I was quite good at it, I remember."

Victoire remembers when Violet twisted her ankle jumping off of the lowest balance beam. Violet seems to know what her mother is thinking about and laughs. "It didn't hurt that much, Mum. Although I suppose there is a reason why I run instead of jump. I can't get a foot off the ground."

"You got that from me," says Victoire, nodding and smiling - the show had cheered the two of them up a little bit, a distraction from the worrying they'd been doing in the last few hours.

When they come back to the hotel room, Victoire realizes Teddy hasn't moved an inch. He's still propped up in the bed, with a cup of tea in his right hand and staring blankly at the television. When he sees Victoire and Violet, he grins, sitting up and almost sloshing his tea all over himself.

Violet rolls her eyes but smiles, and sits next to him on the bed, kicking her running shoes off. "Anything good on the telly?"

"Just mindless reality television," says Teddy.

"The best kind," Violet agrees. Teddy grins at his daughter before turning to his wife.

"How was the show? Did anyone fall from the ceiling? I heard they did that. Is it true?"

"Slow down," says Victoire, smiling lightly.

Violet begins to explain. "It was brilliant. They were swinging everywhere, and some of the ways these people bend, Papa, it shouldn't even be possible! It defies logic."

"It defies logic, does it?" Teddy's tone is teasing, but by the look in his eyes, he's clearly interested, and Violet continues.

"Yeah. It does, Papa, it was great. You should have..." she stops suddenly, and smiles a little nervously.

"I should have been there," says Teddy, seemingly unphased by his daughter's avoidance of the subject. "I will be next time, Vee. That's a promise."

Violet's eyes light up and she grins. "Did you want me to get you something to read from the library, Papa? It's quite big, you know."

"I think that would suit your mother better then me, Vee. I have a tendency to fall asleep in libraries," says Teddy, winking and encouraging her.

"I would like to stop by the library," says Victoire. Violet had shown her a picture - elegant, curved archways, old oak shelves lined with books from floor to ceiling. It sounds like a dream - well, to her, anyway. Violet has never been much of a reader, and Teddy only usually reads the online newspaper.

"See. Bookworm," he teases, and Victoire pecks him on the lips before tucking her room card into her purse, and capturing Violet's attention.

"There's a computer lab," says Victoire, "and you can email Aunt Dom and Great Aunt Ginny and tell her how the trip's going, if you don't want to look at books with me."

"I like books," Violet protests. "I've read lots."

"Ones that you don't have to read for English class, Violet. Picture books don't count."

Violet thinks for a moment, then sighs. "Okay. You win, Mama. I don't read. I'll email Aunt Dom. Let's go to the library."

* * *

Violet takes off to the computers as soon as they arrive at the ship's library - it's nice and all, but she's never really been a reader. She can't explain why - she just doesn't have an interest in it naturally. Like Papa says, she can't force herself to like something. It comes naturally, he says, and Violet agrees.

The computers are sleek and new, almost paper thin - new models, a poster above them says. Came out only last month. Violet thinks they don't even look like technology, but instead like pieces of paper printed with the design on them.

She only hovers her finger over the power button for a moment when it turns on; it's instantaneous, becaus she's immediately at the navigation page of the computer. She clicks the web browser, and a pop-up appears, asking her for the code on the back of her room key.

Entering in, she checks her emails; one from Aunt Dom, one from Uncle Louis (he's never emailed her before - how strange) and three from various schools, track events, and one notification about A Level studies. She hasn't checked her email since she boarded.

She opens the one from Uncle Louis first, curiosity getting the better of her. Her uncle is funny and nice to be around, but she only sees him about once a year if that and they have never been close. She's closer to Aunt Dom, if anything.

_Violet,_

_I was not sure if your mother was going to open this before you would, so I sent you both. She very breifly messaged me about Teddy, and how the three of you paid a visit to the ship's infirmary. Is he alright? Tell your mother that her Grandma Molly sends her regards. She's knitting your father a sweater, scarf, and three pairs of socks as I write to you._

_Please let me know!_

_Uncle Louis_

Violet almost laughs at his formal tone - nothing like his personality in real life, joking and funny.

She writes a quick reply.

Just as she's clicking send, a voice startles her and she accidently clicks a pop-up ad. Exiting the ad, she turns around to the perpetrator.

"Viola," says Will, grinning cheerily, an arm on the back of her chair.

"Hello," she says, and something about the fact that they're both alone makes her feel a little different. She waves it off. She's just been thinking a lot about her Papa, after all. "What are you doing here?"

"Layla wanted to look at the books, Mum said we could," says Will. "I don't see the appeal, but, you know..."

Violet nods. "Yeah, Mama's around here somewhere too."

"You're looking better today," he says lightly, and she wonders what exactly that's supposed to mean until she remembers - she saw him at the coffee shop.

"Thanks," she says, turning back to her emails. One of them is from the University of Manchester - she applied for a Christmas break academic program in May, and she had been waiting to hear back from them for weeks.

"University of Manchester," says Will, reading her emails over her shoulder. Violet shifts - she doesn't know what to make of it. She doesn't really have any experience with boys; the only ones she talks to are Year Nine's interested in running track, and her family members. She supposes she's different in that way, close to her parents but not to boys at all. "Wow."

She minimizes the tab and turns around. Why, exactly, is he here? It was nice, hanging around with him in the pool, but now he's beginning to show up wherever she is.

"Another coincidence, seeing you here," he says, running his fingers through his blonde hair and grinning wildly at her again. "It's almost like it means something." He gives her a look, one she can't decipher - like he's analysing her, all of her shoulder-length brown hair, average body size, rather tall height, and she can't decide if she likes the feeling of being pulled apart and analysed.

He stands up and takes a few steps back. "I'll see you later, Violet." It sounds like a promise.

It was when she was finally clicking on the University of Manchester email did she realize that he _did_ actually know her name.

* * *

a/n - I haven't seen Cirque du Soliel, but I have seen an acrobatics show and I'm basing it on that. For week eight of the Long Haul Competition - I got my chapter up early this time!


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